Shloka 52
नारद–शुक संवादः
Impermanence, Svabhāva, and Śuka’s Resolve for Yoga
तथा वेद्यमवेद्यं च वेदविद्यो न विन्दति । स केवल मूढमतिर्ज्ञानभारवह: स्मृत:
tathā vedyam avedyaṃ ca vedavidyo na vindati | sa kevalaṃ mūḍhamatir jñānabhāravahaḥ smṛtaḥ ||
Yājñavalkya said: “Even after studying the Vedas, one who fails to discern what is truly knowable and what is not to be pursued as knowable does not attain real understanding. Such a person is remembered as merely dull-witted—one who carries knowledge only as a burden, not as wisdom that guides conduct and liberation.”
याज़्ञवल्क्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Vedic study is not sufficient by itself; true wisdom requires discernment—knowing what is genuinely worth knowing (vedya) and what is not (avedya). Without this discrimination, learning becomes mere accumulation and does not transform character or lead toward liberation.
In the didactic setting of the Śānti Parva, Yājñavalkya instructs on the limits of rote scholarship. He critiques those who pride themselves on Vedic learning yet lack insight, portraying them as carrying knowledge like a weight rather than using it to realize truth and live dharmically.